Chicago contractors rule of thumb for costs to rehab

[Ashley Pimsner]

Hello BP community.

I have been looking at several 3 and 4 flats on South side of Chicago and was wondering if some local contractors could give us a general rule of thumb for costs to gut rehab each unit?

Light rehab, medium rehab, and full gut rehab...approximate costs with permits and work that can pass all city inspections and codes.

I realize there are many unknown varaiables, but hoped that this might be beneficial to both rehabbers/flippers and contractors. 

For example, If a rehabber thinks costs 30k a floor for a gut rehab in a 3 flat and contractor has to spend time driving to subject and preparing a scope of work that is 50k a unit...that is all in 90k estimated by rehabber vs 150k from contractor so this probably isn't a deal for either party.

It would be great if rehabbers had a rule of thumb for 3 levels of costs so they don't waste time pursuing a deal that isn't a deal and contractors don't waste time preparing a SOW.

[Robert Leach]

Couple things you should know. Assume a 2 bedroom, 1 bath unit around 900 sf that hasn't been updated. By not updated I mean you have a 30 year old boiler, 60 amp electric, galvanized water piping and a rear porch that is rotting off the building. 50k a floor is reasonable. Most of these units under permit will require electric service upgrades and rewiring, 20 amp gfi's new outlets/switches, interconnected smoke/carbon detectors ect which leads to opening a lot of walls, if these are plaster figure all new drywall. Typically you will have some framing issues once opened. The plumbing if it has sat for any length of time may be an issue as well, rust builds up inside the pipes and usually means replacing with copper, check your service to find out if it's 1 inch or better. Leaks are common in boiler systems so try to get the water on before you buy to test if possible. Check the rear deck against building code. You can find diagrams online to show you code issues. You will need a blue print from a stamped architect who either works with an expediter or can handle it themselves so you get a permit issued in a reasonable period of time. The city is backed up on inspections so leave yourself 4 weeks minimum for some inspections ie: electrical. Plumbing is a little better but you will have to be on your A game to time everything right. Hope this helps some, there obviously is more to it but this gives a general opinion based on my direct experience. I have projects under permit throughout the city and am in the storm so to speak.